“Do as we say, not as we do” is clearly the attitude of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In his recent media appearance, the new Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, instructed us that obtaining nuclear powered submarines pursuant to the AUKUS agreement would not be constructive. It would not be helpful, he added, saying that it would set a bad example.
Reading these remarks would lead the uninformed to conclude that the CCP was actively discouraging nuclear-powered military equipment. But the restrictions that it wants applied to Australia are totally breached by the Chinese regime itself.
Consider the use of nuclear power by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy. Of its 56 submarines, 12 are nuclear powered, and more are being built. Its navy is being expanded at a fast rate. Not only are its submarines nuclear powered, six of them carry intercontinental nuclear missiles.
It also has some 400 nuclear warheads, a number expected to increase to about 1,500 in coming years. Vast nuclear silos have been constructed in the west of the country.
Yet the CCP has the gall to instruct Australia not to acquire nuclear-powered submarines!
At Its Core, CCP Remains Rotten
Currently, the CCP is playing the “good cop, bad cop” roles. “Be nice, and we will restore some trade”, which, by the way, was capriciously banned. “But don’t step out of line by challenging our global ambitions.”The vision of the ambassador toying with a glass of Australian red wine reinforced the message: “Be good, and we will take your wine and lobsters again.”
However, China will import Australia’s mineral resources when it needs them.
He added that Beijing opposed unilateralism and protectionism. Yet Chinese Leader Xi Jinping proclaims that totalitarian rule is superior to liberal democracy and will replace it globally.
The CCP’s current ire is directed at Japan. Its international mouthpiece, the Global Times, recently warned that: “Japan risks turning itself into ‘Ukraine of Asia’ if it follows U.S.’s strategic line.”
“The U.S. and Japan will continue to tread on China’s red line to provoke the Chinese mainland to use force first,” continued the editorial.
The article quoted Lian Degui, director of the Department of Japanese Studies at the Shanghai International Studies University: “They want to put China in a dilemma where it has to use force, then shift responsibility to the Chinese mainland and blame it for launching a war.”
This false narrative has to be challenged. It is the Chinese PLA navy that is harassing Japanese vessels in the East China Sea. It was the Chinese that fired missiles over Taiwan into Japanese waters.
The current Australian government should recall that Beijing initially welcomed new prime ministers only to subsequently condemn them for defending Australia’s interests or asserting international norms.
Bob Hawke’s condemnation of the Tiananmen Square carnage ended the then-Chinese bromance. Kevin Rudd’s reference to human rights at Peking University began the more recent estrangement. It continued under subsequent Liberal prime ministers.
Scott Morrison was binned for asking for an independent investigation of the origins of COVID.
The CCP may be changing its tactics, but its long-term strategy remains the same.